THE FIRST WORD

Prospero

PRONUNCIATION:

(PROS-puh-roh) 

MEANING:

noun: Someone who is capable of influencing others' behavior or perceptions without their being aware of it.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan and a magician, in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Earliest documented use: 1785.

USAGE:

"Melliora is the Prospero who engineers a return to social order entirely in accord with her desires."
David Oakleaf (ed.), Eliza Haywood; Love in Excess; Broadview Press; 2000.